Green Day
Moda Center || Portland, OR || 2 August 2017
Punk rock, the voice of a generation speaking out against societal norms; against government; against…
Despite the fact that the airwaves were dominated by the then booming grunge scene, Dookie came along and reinvigorated punk rock. The album resonated with so many, and achieved tremendous mainstream success which caused many of the early punk rock pioneers to turn their backs to these newly crowned kings of punk. That didn’t seem to deter them however. Green Day would go on to sell nearly 90 million records, win a grip of Grammy awards, and cement their legacy in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Green Day is currently on tour in support of their twelfth studio album, Revolution Radio. August 2nd, 2017, we had the privilege of catching up with them at Portland, Oregon’s Moda Center.
Playing to a packed arena, Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool, along with touring members Jason White, Jason Freese, and Jeff Matika put on an incredible show for a rambunctious and nearly capacity crowd in Portland. Billie Joe reminded the audience that we’re here to party, before pointing out that he’s tired of all the parties; all the political parties. “This is a celebration,” he reminded us all. 
But when it wasn’t politics, it was a set full of incredible music spanning the entirety of their nearly 30-year career. Oddly missing from the setlist was the Grammy Award nominated “21 Guns” off of 21st Century Breakdown. Honestly, with a setlist of 24 songs, I’m going to cut them a little slack. The stage setup wasn’t incredibly fresh, but several backdrop changes and pyrotechnics throughout the performance kept the crowd in a punk rock trance. During the performance of “2000 Light Years Away” Billie Joe grabbed some hoses and thoroughly doused the GA Floor crowd. Also, as seems to be true to theme for this tour, 11-year-old Portlander, “Vega” got to sing with the band and received a brand spankin’ new Gibson guitar courtesy of Billie Joe Armstrong and Green Day.
After a lengthy setlist, the show closed with a pair of encores, the latter of which left Billie Joe and his acoustic guitar on the stage alone with a single spotlight. He sang “Ordinary World” before bringing in all the feelz with “Good Riddance“.
There are still several dates on this tour as Green Day make their way back toward the Midwest and New England. It’s a spectacular show and to hell with anyone that says Green Day isn’t punk.
